New York – A new poll by respected Israeli pollster Yitzhak Katz of the Maagar Mohots Survey Institute shows that only 35% of all Israelis, (including Israeli Arabs), favor “unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria if the PA doesn’t fight terror.” Among those voting for the Ohlmert Kadima Party, 54% supported further unilateral withdrawals. (Poll was taken Sunday and Monday, February 5-6, 2006, of 624 adult Israelis including Israeli Arabs, with a survey error of 4.5% points). This poll was commissioned by the Zionist Organization of America.
Other key findings in the Poll:
- Only 25% of respondents supported unilateral withdrawal if it meant “Quassam rockets will then fall in the center of Israel” not only Ashkelon and Sderot.
- Only 32% supported unilateral withdrawal if “there is a reasonable chance that a threatening sovereign Palestinian State will be established in the evacuated area.” 47% of Ohlmert’s Kadima voters supported unilateral withdrawal under these circumstances.
- 60% believe a vote for Kadima is a vote in favor of additional unilateral withdrawals.
- 30% believe that Israel’s security situation “will be better in a year or two after carrying out significant withdrawals from Judea & Samaria.”
- 39% said “they agree that even if a threatening sovereign Palestinian State will be established in the evacuated areas, IDF can always act to get quiet at a relatively low cost.”
- 34% have either not decided what party they will note for (23%) or refused to reply (11%). This represents 41 out of the 120 Knesset seats.
- 21% (25 seats) said they would vote for Ohlmert’s Kadima Party, 10% (12 seats) for Peretz’s Labor, 8% (10 seats) for Netanyahu’s Likud. Other religious or right-wing parties received 18% (22 seats). Other left-wing parties received 3% (4 seats).
- 34% (41 seats) will be voting for left-of-center parties.
26% (31 seats) will be voting for right-of-center parties
34% (41 seats) were undecided or wouldn’t reply.
ZOA President Morton A. Klein said: “Despite the strong public support given for additional unilateral withdrawals by Kadima’s Ohlmert, Defense Minister Mofaz and Labor’s Peretz, only one-third of Israelis agree with this position, and probably even fewer among only Jewish voters.
“The fact that this poll shows that 34% of the Israeli electorate is still undecided or won’t say who they will vote for in the March 28 elections indicates that the election is still up for grabs. In addition the fact that 60% of Israelis believe a vote for Kadima is a vote for unilateral withdrawal, while only 35% support unilateral withdrawal further indicates that support for Kadima may be weaker than expected and that the undecided vote may go largely for a party opposed to unilateral withdrawal. Support also drops for unilateral withdrawal the more Israelis believe such actions will reduce security.”